Celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders

I recently read an article by Doctor Alessio Fasano head of the Center for Celiac Disease at the University of Maryland.  Doctor Fasano is one of the leading experts on celiac disease; his research has linked the human protein zonulin to the development of autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, and multiple sclerosis. The article centered on the comorbidity between celiac disease and the onset of other various autoimmune disorders.  This article presented two hypotheses; the first proposed that untreated celiac disease leads to the onset of other autoimmune disorders with the existence of a genetic predisposition.  The gliadin-induced inflammatory process that results from a patient with celiac disease who ingests gluten results in antigen "spreading" from further processing of autoantigens.  This has primarily been studied in patients with Type 1 Diabetes.  Studies also found that the prevalence of other autoimmune disorders increased with age.  First degree relatives of those with celiac disease were also at increased risk for other autoimmune disorders.  The second hypothesis proposed the idea that celiac disease and other autoimmune disorders were related because of a linkage disequilibrium.  Unsure of what this meant, I discovered that a linkage disequilibrium is a nonrandom association of alleles at two or more loci.  The association can, however, occur on more than one chromosome.  This presents a condition in which some allele combinations can occur more or less frequently in a population.  Studies performed based on this model found that the increased age of a celiac disease diagnosis corresponded to an increase in other autoimmune conditions.  I found the connections between celiac disease and Type 1 Diabetes particularly interesting.  An early exposure to gluten (in formulas used during the first three months of life) increased the prevalence of islet cell antibodies and the occurrence of Type 1 Diabetes.  The article identified that related autoimmune disorders can be organ specific or non-organ specific.  I would, in the future, like to further explore the genetics behind celiac disease.  There is still so much to discover within the field of genetics; perhaps one day it may be possible to alter our genes and halt the onset of celiac disease.  Doctor Fasano's work with the protein zonulin was particularly interesting; I wonder if there may be an underlying correlation between celiac disease and multiple sclerosis.  I experienced brain demyelination due to malnutrition, and am curious to discover if celiac disease may relate to, or cause m.s., another autoimmune disorder.